The Ballad of Lamar Odom and the Media

A recent ESPN.com article pontificates that Lamar Odom, a la Dirk Nowitzki, could be the next Mav to get some rest: http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/7510635/dallas-mavericks-consider-sitting-lamar-odom-next-stretch-games

I say good. Unusual thinking like this might be exactly what this lock-out shortened season requires, especially for a team like the Mavs that 1) features many older players than the average and 2) includes many new parts that weren't part of the team last year.

Lamar Odom being chief among those new parts.

Follow along with me as I share with you my love for Sports Radio 1310, "The Ticket," in Dallas/Ft. Worth. When it comes to sports talk that I enjoy listening to, they're it. Most sports radio will just throw a bunch of opinionated blowhards on the dial, seeking nothing more than instigating a rise out of the general listening audience, hoping to get as many as possible on their airwaves via the call-in, foaming at the mouth. Wherein mindless yelling ensues. Yeah, sounds really entertaining and informative. See ESPN and Fox radio as your chief offenders in these areas of rabid dog-style sports talk.

Of course, The Ticket has their own cast of opinionated personalities, but they differ from the coast-to-coast stations in that they're personable, entirely likable, and, to top it off, every one of their on-air talents knows each other. Unlike a behemoth such as ESPN radio that is compartmentalized into blocks of programming, originating from all over the US, The Ticket has the opportunity and privilege to interact with the other home-grown shows on the station.

Such an opportunity arose the other night, as a collection of Ticket hosts gathered at a remote broadcast for a semi-annual "Guy's Night Out." An on-air Ticket Roundtable ensued. Roundtables will gather hosts from morning, midday, and afternoon shows. They're always entertaining and often sound like they're fueled by copious amount of alcohol. They dare to tell it like it is.

In stark contrast, an ESPN station like 710 in LA will tip-toe around the status of the Lakers, but never call them out directly. They don't truly represent the pulse of the fans of LA. Everyone I work with who bleeds purple and gold is worried, not only about the Lakers' chances of securing a playoff spot this year, but any real potential of landing a big free agent in the next off-season. Listening to an afternoon of 710 will provide you with both a three-hour long breakdown of the previous Lakers game as well as lead you to believe that everything is fine in the organization.

ESPN LA 710 also dances around the issue of LA having two NBA teams. 710 is the flagship station of the Lakers, paying for the exclusive right to broadcast the play-by-play of their games, but they never go so far as to pick sides and call out the Clippers. Turn on any Lakers radio broadcast and, besides hearing John Ireland, the most thoroughly boring man in sports radio, you'll get an earful from Lakers' homer, Mychal Thompson. Dare ask Thompson if the Lakers have a chance of making the playoffs this year and he'll let you know that they're guaranteed to win the next five NBA titles. Minimum.

So while an outlet like ESPN radio runs the typical gamut of Colin Cowherd beating you over the head in the morning as to why the Buffalo Bills will never win anything and then an overload of Stephen A. Smith yelling at you in the evening about the Knicks and Heat, The Ticket keeps things simple, local, and down-to-earth.

The Ticket calls it like they see it. Like any fan would, because they're fans, too. No one is protected. Not Jerry Jones. Not the Cowboys, not the Rangers, not even the World Champion Mavs.

And not Lamar Odom.

The gents from The Ticket gathered at this "Guy's Night" and called out the lackluster play of Lamar Odom. He hasn't shined the way he did in LA. We all know he's capable of more. Odom has admitted as much himself. But it hasn't showed up yet. He's a career 47% shooter, but he's only bringing 35% through 21 games this season.

Is it the change in scenery? Is it lingering hurt feelings from the Lakers' desire to trade him? That damn TV show and the Kardashian family? Does his wife miss LA and remind him of that every waking minute? Is he just out of shape and worsen things with his non-stop candy diet?

F. Who knows! But these are things that the fans wonder, because they see how Odom looks on the court. They see it. They see that he doesn't appear into things. He doesn't have that same aggressive approach. That killer instinct for the ball or the game.

And that's what The Ticket hosts called out. Turns out that Mavs owner, Mark Cuban, had the radio on and was listening, too. He took to Twitter and posted the following:

"Listening to The Ticket radio...total idiots. Absolutely no clue." (Posted Jan. 26)

OK, perhaps that's true of all of us in the peanut gallery. We don't have access to inside information. But all we have is what we see. And so far, all we've seen of Odom in Dallas is not what LA saw of him during his time there.

The fans of the Mavs are rooting for Odom's success, that's a fact. And in the face of all this scrutiny brought about by the public and the media alike, there is nothing more we'd all enjoy than seeing Odom come around and help deliver the much-needed double-double and winning shot in the clinching game of this year's finals. Plenty will eat crow as those who denied him, but many more are also there right now, cheering for him, and asking, "what needs to be done to help this guy out? We need him!"

And that's exactly what The Ticket guys were asking, whether or not it was masked within inebriated humor. We're all thinking it as fans; they're just saying it for us.

Fans of the Mavs are grateful for one of the most-stellar runs in playoff history, but we'd sure love another. And Lamar Odom represents a terrific chance at getting there. But not as he's playing right now.

If he needs a week or two off to run two-a-day workouts like Dirk did and familiarize himself with his new role, new playbook, and new locale, I say do it now. It can only make him, and the team as a whole, stronger.